Tag: drifting

Er.
Wow.
Apparently “Immersion” and On a Red Station, Drifting are both finalists for the Locus Awards (best short story and best novella, respectively).
I’m on a freaking shortlist with Ursula Le Guin. *faints*

Congrats to all my fellow nominees, and best of luck to everyone!
(I won’t be at the Awards ceremony, sadly. End of June is way past the time when I’m allowed transatlantic flights, so I’ll be content with cheering everyone on).

In other Red Station news, I can confirm we’re on track for a release of the ebook at the end of May (maybe earlier if I can tackle it before I leave for the US, but not guaranteed). And I have seen the new cover sketches and they are awesome.

For everyone who missed it yesterday on twitter, I can confirm there will be an ebook of On a Red Station, Drifting, for sale on amazon (and on other platforms if I work out the principles of the thing. Have only ever done Kindle for Scattered Among Strange Worlds).

The e-edition should have a different cover than the paper book, and Immersion Press will continue to sell that as a limited edition hardback (just as a reminder, there were only 200 copies of those printed, and they’re going fast, so if you want to grab one, head over to their website). It will be a self-published edition; release date will be May or beginning of June, depending on how much energy I have and how soon we can get the new cover done.

-Ian Mond reviews the Nebula-nominated novellas, which includes On a Red Station, Drifting

More then just being an insight into a culture and tradition that I know bugger all about, Red Station is written with a delicate intensity. It’s not an easy read, because the novella doesn’t provide us with a set of sympathetic characters that we can cheer on. Rather, through some gorgeous writing and the complexity of the world building, each character earns our respect. And that makes the ending all the more powerful.

Very quick post as I’m still at Eastercon and the hotel internet is a bit overloaded…

Delighted that “Immersion” andOn a Red Station, Drifting are both finalists for the Hugo (for best Short Story and Best Novella, respectively). The full list of nominees is below; among the many many friends I have on the ballot, I am utterly delighted to see Zen Cho is up for a much-deserved Campbell Award, that Ken Liu continues his unstoppable march to world domination, and that Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Clarkesworld are up for the award, which is awesome.

Not sure “delighted” is the word, actually. More like serious-time flabbergasted. I suspected something about “Immersion” due to the strong buzz [1], but I have to admit the second nomination was completely unexpected (and I’m still dazed that people actually read the novella–in a good way!). Many thanks to everyone who voted for them/mentioned them/reviewed them. I sadly won’t be at Worldcon because it’s way too close to my due date (and I strongly suspect the Nebula Awards will be my last transatlantic con for a bit–I have nightmare images of long-haul flights with young children 🙁 ). But wow.

So, it’s occurred to me I didn’t actually provide this for my latest release–accordingly, there you go, author’s notes for On a Red Station, Drifting.

I started writing On a Red Station, Drifting after one too many readings of the Chinese classicDream of Red Mansions, and musing on old literature.

It’s no secret that “classical literature”, at least the brand taught in French schools, is overwhelmingly male and concerned with “male” affairs: wars, violence, fatherhood, father/son relationships… I found the same preoccupation prevalent in SFF, to a point where it became unsettling–it’s a subject covered by Ursula Le Guin in her Language of the Night and by Joanna Russ in many of her writings. One of the things that drove this home for me was seeing the statistics compiled by Martin Lewis for the Clarke Award (among the highlights: around 90% of the books had at least a male protagonist, a good quarter featured no women main characters at all, and a good 81% of the books had the protagonist kill someone, while only under half the protagonists were in a stable happy relationship).

Haven’t been posting here because it’s been a rather hectic week, but basically have been plugging away in the trenches. Had an awesome writing weekend in Brittany with Tricia Sullivan and Rochita Loenen-Ruiz during which much world domination was plotted (and much sun enjoyed).

Other than that, the novella has backcover copy!

On a Red Station, Drifting

For generations Prosper Station has thrived under the guidance of its Honoured Ancestress: born of a human womb, the station’s artificial intelligence has offered guidance and protection to its human relatives.

But war has come to the Dai Viet Empire. Prosper’s brightest minds have been called away to defend the Emperor; and a flood of disorientated refugees strain the station’s resources. As deprivations cause the station’s ordinary life to unravel, uncovering old grudges and tearing apart the decimated family, Station Mistress Quyen and the Honoured Ancestress struggle to keep their relatives united and safe. What Quyen does not know is that the Honoured Ancestress herself is faltering, her mind eaten away by a disease that seems to have no cure; and that the future of the station itself might hang in the balance…

It’s forthcoming from Immersion Press sometime before the end of the year, as a limited edition hardback. It’s a bit of a bridge work between the Xuya works (“Ship’s Brother”, “Shipbirth”, “The Shipmaker”etc.) and the space station continuity featured in the two Clarkesworld stories “Scattered Along the River of Heaven” and “Immersion”–aka the three space stations, Prosper(ity), Felicity and Longevity. Yes, the Three Blessings, why do you ask?). Basically, it’s set on a station which has a ruling Mind, and was heavily inspired by too many readings of Dreams of Red Mansions (hence the title) even though I’m sure the resultant story doesn’t actually have much in common with the Chinese classic… Expect, er, space station design, virtual environments, poetry and lots and lots of strong women. And possibly some food porn and some fish sauce porn…

Coming Soon: The House of Binding Thorns

A new standalone novel set in the ruined and decadent Paris of the award-winning The House of Shattered Wings...

As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the Great Houses of Paris, ruled by fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital. House Hawthorn, a place of ruined gardens and decaying state rooms, now stands near the apex of power--and plots to gain more.

Its schemes bring together the lover of a Fallen angel, a shapeshifting dragon prince, a washed-out alchemist with a self-destructive addiction, and a resentful young man from the Far East seeking to revive a dead friend.

As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those four will have to find strength—or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will.